ELWOOD — Madison County might be getting a wind farm.
Madison County Planning Director Cory Wilson said Tuesday that a permit for a meteorological tower would likely be approved this week, giving wind farm technology company E-On the green light to begin studying wind speeds north of Elwood.
Wilson has been in talks with the company since April about creating a wind farm in the northwest corner of the county in territories shared by Tipton and Grant counties.
E-On helped in the construction of 200 windmills in Benton County, Wilson said.
Benton County was the first Indiana County to build a wind farm and now Earl Park touts the farm as a tourist destination, providing road maps that border the farm, showing off the new technology.
Wilson said the wind farm could bring 600 temporary jobs created for construction of the 225 windmills.
But Wilson warns that those jobs are still two years away.
The meteorological tower must monitor wind speeds for two years before E-On will start construction on the wind farm.
That isn’t keeping Madison County officials from preparing for the farm.
The Madison County commissioners will vote on an ordinance at the Feb. 10 meeting that establishes regulations for land use in regard to wind farms.
The measure is “not to promote it or turn it away,” according to Commissioner Paul Wilson, D-South District. “We wanted to protect the citizens of the county.”
Cory Wilson said the company does not plan to purchase land in the northern part of the county for the farm.
Instead, E-On is in talks with local land owners about leasing 20-foot by 20-foot patches of land for $5,000 per year.
“You can farm within 10 feet of the tower,” Cory Wilson said.
He is confident that wind energy is the future.
“There is enough wind, in the research that I’ve done, to supply the entire United States,” he said.
Cory Wilson believes Madison County will profit from wind energy as the technology is developed. “With all the manufacturing jobs lost in this area and the work force that is skilled in manufacturing, the Midwest is poised to do well in this green job environment.”
Contact reporter Brandi Watters at 640-4847 and brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com.
Local Business
County could get wind farm
Land north of Elwood favored for farm site
- Local Business
-
-
Rivals back home, friends here
Football fans began arriving here for Super Bowl XLVI on Friday, bringing together complete strangers, families and old fraternity buddies.
-
Members accuse city union treasurer of stealing
Over $30,000 in dues is missing from a city union, according to two members.
-
Muncie business sells football-shaped windows
Small-business owner Pat Smith says she created the Sports Collection of Windows and Doors to give back to an organization that saved her son’s life.
-
Susan Miller: Big names contradict first-born advantage
Perhaps you’ve heard the stories about birth order and success in life. You know the stories that say first-born and only-children tend to rise to the top in life and in business.
-
Community Hospital to add building for robotic surgery
Community Hospital Anderson is planning an expansion to house more surgical rooms and equipment.
-
$126,000 contract approved for ED director
The Board of Public Work approved a 12-month contract to hire Greg Winkler as a consultant to serve in the position of interim economic development director.
-
Emmett Dulaney: Business education lacks taste of cookie
No matter how well I describe cookies, the history behind them, the recipe used, or anything else, it will never do justice to the taste of biting into one. You cannot appreciate the information about the cookie without doing so. The problem with a lot of business education is that it lacks the taste of the cookie.
-
Recycling collection moves to bigger bins, every other week
Per a contract with the city, Best Way Disposal is picking up recycling every other week, rather than weekly. Trash pickup continues to be collected on a weekly basis.
-
Poet, farmers: Little to no effects from subsidy's end
Poet officials and local farmers have said there shouldn’t be much, if any, effect felt locally from the recent expiration of two ethanol subsidies — a 45-cent-per-gallon tax credit to oil refiners for blending ethanol and a 54-cents-per-gallon tariff on ethanol imports.
-
Getting Together: Volunteers sew love into teddy bears
Churning out approximately 100 unique teddy bears a month, the Madison County Love Bears are reaching out to comfort anxious children in area hospitals with the gift of a new, fluffy friend.
- More Local Business Headlines
-
